From gentleman racing to Formula 1, and everything in-between, watches and car are a match made in mechanical heaven. Tracey Llewellyn takes her favorites for a spin.
A quick look through the line-ups of most watch brands will affirm that the car-watch crossover runs much deeper than a clever marketing gimmick.
Although engineering at vastly different scales, and products with completely dissimilar purposes, the mechanics, design, workmanship and finishing that goes into the best of both of these worlds is definitely comparable.
Add to this, the appreciation of a fine watch or a classic car, whether in terms of aesthetic beauty or technical complication, and the arenas of timekeeping and motoring suddenly become a lot closer.
A lover of both cars and watches, horological and automotive journalist Simon de Burton tries to explain the links. “To paraphrase George Daniels, ‘it is all a question of propulsion’,” he says. “There is definitely a shared mechanical aspect, and watches allow people to stay connected to this when they are not driving.
“Like cars, watch design has gone through specific shifts from the 1960s through to the 1970s and 1980s – the changes in both categories are distinctive. And, of course, there are the watches that link to specific events or people – Jo Siffert’s Autavia, Paul Newman’s Daytona, and Steve McQueen’s Monaco. Iconic men and iconic timepieces.”
Whatever the reason – whether romantic and historical or innovative and ground-breaking – the link between what we drive and what we wear on our wrists (or at least what we aspire to) is one that is set to last until the end of time.
THE OGs
Breitling Top Time Classic Cars Capsule Collection, 42mm steel, £4,500, breitling.com
Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition (1,000 pieces), 44mm steel, £6,680, chopard.com
Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto Blue, 41.5mm titanium, $49,500 + taxes, laurentferrier.ch
Porsche Design Chronograph 911 GT3 RS (exclusively available to buyers of the 911 GT3 RS car), 42mm titanium, from £8,200, porsche-design.com
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Huracán Monobalancier, 45mm mineral composite fibre, and titanium, POA, rogerdubuis.com
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, 40mm Oystersteel, £11,600, rolex.com
Vacheron Constantin Historique American 1921, 40mm white gold, £32,300, vacheron-constantin.com
Zenith Defy Extreme E ‘Island X Prix’ Special Edition, 45mm carbon fibre and titanium, £22,700, zenith-watches.com
MODERN CLASSICS
Brooklands Watch Company Triple-Four Racing Chronograph designed by Sir Terence Conran, 43mm steel, £5,750, brooklandswatches.com
Farer Carnegie Chronograph Sport, 41mm steel, £1,680, farer.com
Frederique Constant Vintage Rally Healey, 40mm steel, £1,595, frederiqueconstant.com
Giuliano Mazzuoli Manometro, 45mm steel, £2,700, giulianomazzuoli.com
Hanhart Racemaster GTM monopusher chronograph, 45mm steel, £2,650, hanhart.com
Junghans Meister Driver Chronoscope, 40.8mm steel, £2,190, junghans.de
Reservoir Kanister, 43mm titanium, £3,850, reservoir-watch.com
Turismo Tertre Rouge Chronograph, 42.5mm steel, £645, turismo-watches.com
POLE POSITION
Bell & Ross BR 03-92 A522, 42mm ceramic, £3,700, bellross.com
Bremont WR-22 with Alcantara strap, 43mm steel, £5,995, bremont.com
Casio Edifice Scuderia AlphaTauri Limited Edition ECB-10AT-1A, 48.5mm steel, approx. £269, casio.com
Cyrus Klepcys Dice Double Independent Chronograph Evolution, 42mm titanium with black-DLC coating, £34,250, cyrus-watches.ch
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph Aston Martin F1 Edition, 44mm titanium and carbon fibre, £21,500, girard-perregaux.com
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition ‘Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’, 41mm titanium, £6,900, iwc.com
Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari, titanium 51 x 39 x 1.75mm, CHF1.7m + taxes, approx. £1.5m, richardmille.com
TAG Heuer Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Special Edition on bracelet, 43mm steel, £1,800, tagheuer.com
Some stunning looking watches here. The Brooklands Watch Company Triple-Four Racing Chronograph stands in particular as a modern classic.